Argentina’s whitewashing shame
Published:Wednesday | December 21, 2022 | 12:24 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
First, let me commend Dr Alfred Dawes on his excellent columns in The Sunday Gleaner. They are always extremely well researched and written.
I believe I am guilty of stirring this Argentina debate as the Observer published a letter of mine on the eve of the start of the World Cup on November 17. I remarked on the absence of black players on the Argentinian team amid that country’s systematic genocide of black people.
I felt appalled to see many of my black brothers and sisters touting Argentinian colours, spurred, I believe, by their admiration of Lionel Messi, a truly great player. But so, too, is Kylian Mbappe, who is more than 10 years Messi’s junior but perhaps too black for comfort.
Dr Dawes’ arguments about King Leopold, Brazil, the USA, monkey chants, among other things, are absolutely correct. But here is where I take issue with your argument.
Racism is as endemic to man as is poverty, classlessness, crime, sin. It seems to me that Dr Dawes is somehow implying that Argentina’s sin has been somewhat mitigated by allowing all its morochos (including Diego Maradona) and black people to whiten themselves by marrying ‘up’.
At least France, Italy, Belgium and the rest are accepting that the world is moving on. Yes, French migrants are migrants until they don the national colours. But progress is very slow, often centuries slow. Remember we have had a number of black Popes over the two millennia of Christianity.
Does Argentina accept that like the poor, black and brown people will always be with us? What if every ‘white’ country retains a systematic whitening agenda like Argentina? Why not engage in systematic whitening and blackening of peoples simultaneously?
Therein is what differentiates Argentina from the rest. However hypocritical, the others are acknowledging a centuries-old wrong in some way by giving even symbolic representation to the world’s most popular sport on the global stage.
Argentina has not seen that light, since in the words of one of their presidents years ago, black people are America’s problem and that will never be Argentina’s problem.
HOPETON MORRISON